Characters

Introduction of character sets used in the Japanese language -

Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji and Rōmaji

Japanese Characters

3 plus 1 Character Sets

昨夜のコンサートは最高でした。 (The concert last night was terrific.)
Hiragana: の, は, でした	Katakana: コンサート	Kanji: 昨夜, 最高

In Japanese, three types of character sets - Hiragana, Katakana and kanji (Chinese characters) are used in a mixed way.

Hiragana and Kanji are used widely to form a sentence. Katakana is used mostly for foreign loan words.

昨夜のコンサートは最高でした。 (The concert last night was terrific.)
Rōmaji: sakuya no konsāto wa saikō deshita.

Additionally, Rōmaji (Roman alphabet) is used mainly for the convenience of foreigners.

FAQ: What are the letters with a bar on top (ā ū ē ō)?

Hiragana

What is Hiragana

Sample Hiragana Letters
あいうえおかきくけこさしすせそがぎぐげごぱぴぷぺぽ

Hiragana [ひらがな] is a set of alphabet. Each letter represents the sound of a syllable. The letter itself has no meaning.

Hiragana has 46 basic letters and their modified forms.

See Hiragana page for more details.

Learning Hiragana

Most students learn Hiragana at the very beginning of the study. It takes 3-20 days.

Hiragana Course helps you to learn quickly how to read, write and type the Hiragana letters.

Katakana

What is Katakana

Sample Katakana Letters
アイウエオカキクケコサシスセソガギグゲゴパピプペポ

Katakana [カタカナ] is another set of alphabet. Katakana and Hiragana alphabets represent exactly the same set of sounds.

Katakana also has 46 basic letters and their modified forms.

In modern age, Katakana is used mostly for foreign loan words.

See Katakana page for more details.

Learning Katakana

Katakana is usually learned after Hiragana. It takes 3-20 days.

Katakana Course helps you to learn quickly how to read, write and type the Katakana letters.

Kanji

What is Kanji

Sample Kanji Letters
川月木心火左北今名美見外成空明静海雲新語道聞強飛

Kanji [漢字] came from China. Pronunciation and usage have been modified to fit the Japanese language.

Each Kanji symbol has one or more way of readings and meanings.

Around 2,500 Kanji symbols are used in daily life.

See Kanji page for more details.

Learning Kanji

Most students learn about 2,000 commonly used Kanji after mastering Hiragana and Katakana. It takes 1-3 years.

Kanji Master Drill helps you to learn quickly how to read, write and properly use the Kanji symbols.

Rōmaji

What is Rōmaji

Sample Rōmaji Letters
a i u e o ka ki ku ke ko sa shi su se so ā ū ō

Rōmaji [ローマ字] describes the sound of Japanese in Roman alphabet.

It is mainly used for the convenience of foreigners. For example, name of the train station is written in Rōmaji.

See Rōmaji page for more details.